Reports and web links including reflection by Bishop David Chillingworth, Bishop of New York’s comment at Southampton service, services and events in Belfast, and video of Fr Brown the best guided priest on the Titanic.
Thinking aloud
Bishop David Chillingworth, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church reflects on the Titanic – So today’s the day. Belfast hopes that the new Titanic Centre will do for Belfast what the Guggenheim Museum has done for Bilbao.
And not just Belfast. Southampton too – and of course Cobh in the far south of Ireland which was the final point of departure of Titanic on her voyage to America. Here in Ireland, it became something of a nostalgia-fest – an opportunity to revisit the story of Irish emigration to the US. I’m old enough to remember being taken to see the big ships calling in Cork Harbour and to get a flavour of what emigration meant in the 1950′s
You probably haven’t read the speech of President Michael D Higgins in Cobh. He is an elected President – but above politics. So this is in my view a brave and magnificent statement of what has happened in Ireland. No whimsy or nostalgia. Just a sharpness which shames other political and church leaders …
‘We in our time have experienced the sense of crisis which occurs when something deemed unsinkable – in our case a speculative economy – is confounded not only by circumstance and error but by the hubris which accompanied belief in what proved to be an irrational version of the economic. In addition to those who are materially impacted by the crisis, it leads to a collective loss of confidence, a questioning of previously unchallenged assumptions and an erosion of trust in institutions. In the humbling aftermath of that crisis, there is not only an opportunity to learn but a requirement to reflect – to address the erroneous assumptions that led to failure, to mobilise support around an alternative vision for our Republic and to put ourselves on course for a future which is sustainable and embraces us all as equal citizens.’
http://www.bishopdavid.net/
Titanic tragedy remembered 100 years on Services and commemorations are taking place around the world today to mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic Today (Sunday), a special Titanic commemoration service is taking place in the city’s St Peter’s Cathedral followed by the unveiling of a new memorial garden and a memorial procession from St Peter’s to Belfast City Hall.
The service began with the singing of the hymn “Eternal Father, Strong to Save”, which was sung during the last service on board the Titanic. It closed with a minute’s silence and the hymn “Nearer My God to Thee”, said to be played by the Titanic’s band as the ship sank into the sea.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/titanic.tragedy.remembered.100.years.on/29600.htm
Special Titanic Service at Belfast Cathedral holds Commemoration and Thanksgiving
In his address, The Dean of Belfast, the Very Revd John Mann, acknowledged the huge fascination with the tragedy saying:
“The tales of heroism and self–sacrifice of self–preservation and social advantage have been frequently rehearsed in these recent weeks, but for us today it is in the separation of fact from fiction, from movie to reality is what is required if we are to remember in sincerity and commemorate in the true spirit of acknowledgement of both the nobility of humanity and its inner frailties.”
Turning to the present, the Dean will highlight the great energy for development in the Titanic Quarter and the work of the Church to, “bring a sense of Christian witness that is not bound by the creased and worn divides of our history.”
Dean Mann concluded by urging the people of Belfast not to rest on past laurels, and to, “continue to build a society that honours its past sacrifices, recognises its failures, celebrates its successes and works towards producing a healed and renewed people whose experience of difficult times will stand it in good stead in meeting very different challenges which, nonetheless ask the best of us all.”
The service included elements of the original memorial service held in the Cathedral in 1912, the Sunday after the liner was sunk. The “Titanic Funeral Pall” was dedicated. Special guests and the congregation were invited to join clergy to walk from the cathedral to the Titanic Quarter., stopping for brief reflections at ‘The Kit Sculpture’ and the Drawing Office, finishing at the Thompson Graving Dock.
More at : http://ireland.anglican.org/news/3999
Text of Dean of Belfast’s sermon
http://ireland.anglican.org/news/#text
Photo at
http://dawn.com/2012/04/15/titanic-sinking-marked-100-years-on/
Requiem for the lost souls of the Titanic
On the night of April the 14th 2012, a century after the Titanic hit an iceberg, the loss was remembered by a “REQUIEM FOR THE LOST SOULS OF THE TITANIC”by Belfast born composer Philip Hammond. Part of the ‘Titanic Festival of Creative Arts 2012,’this was the final event in a ‘mini-festival’ series of new art commissioned with funds provided by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. The Requiem was premiered on the night of the 100th year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, on Saturday 14thApril 2012, commemorating the tragic loss of over 1, 500 lives. St. Anne’s Cathedral Belfast hosted the specially commissioned choral work from the Belfast composer, with the performance being funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board Events Fund and the PRS Fund for Music, with sponsorship from Harland & Wolff and Power NI.
Titanic tragedy being remembered
BBC – The 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, with the loss of more than 1,500 lives, is being remembered at a number of special events.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17715345
Speck on ocean floor – incredible new images of the Titanic
Belfast Telegraph – It may be the most famous ship in the world. But these extraordinary images show the Titanic as it has never been seen before. The pictures, produced using sonar and taken by underwater robots, provide new clues about what exactly happened when the doomed White Star Liner sank in the North Atlantic 100 years ago.
For the first time researchers have pieced together what is believed to be a comprehensive map of the entire three-by-five-mile Titanic debris field.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/speck-on-ocean-floor-incredible-new-images-of-the-titanic-16129265.html
Legend of Titanic is home again
News Letter – Belfast’s historic pride as a global leader in engineering and manufacturing has been reignited in the form of the new Titanic experience.
The days when we led the world with our shipbuilding prowess and linen production may be long gone, but the Titanic Belfast visitor attraction is a world leader in its own right.
It houses nine state-of-the-art, interactive galleries that blend technology with an easy-to-grasp historical narrative and carries the Titanic theme seamlessly throughout.
It also exudes a level of class evocative of the great liner itself – including the showpiece grand staircase recreated in the 1,000-seat banqueting and conferencing suite.
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/legend-of-titanic-is-home-again-1-3625564
In Pictures: Belfast’s £90m Titanic Experience
Belfast Telegraph – The Titanic Belfast Experience is a new £90 million visitor attraction which opens on March 31, 2012. Almost 80,000 tickets have been snapped up to tour the world’s largest Titanic attraction when it opens. Operators of the £90 million Titanic Belfast, which has been built in the derelict shipyard where the ill-fated liner was constructed a century earlier, say they are delighted with the interest the centre has generated. They have also revealed that their banqueting suite, which is themed on the White Star Line’s first class dining facilities, has already had almost 200 bookings, representing £1 million of business.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/nostalgia/titanic/in-pictures-sneak-preview-of-belfasts-90m-titanic-experience-16131441.html
An awesome experience… Titanic’s epic story comes vividly to life
Belfast Telegraph – It’s hard not to be impressed on entering the new attraction.
To get inside you cross a plaza designed to emphasise the location of the building, right in the heart of Belfast’s docks and shipyards — the old Harland and Wolff drawing offices and paint halls visible, a view down the slipways now lined with steel pillars representing the arrol gantry which held the ship under construction, the water and a new sign, the word Titanic cut out of rusty metal.
The windows are full of Titanic facts and people, and as you step through the door the ceiling is lined with steel panels, the ticket booths made from huge wooden planks, all oozing an industrial atmosphere of days gone by.
But this is just a taster of what’s to come.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/nostalgia/titanic/an-awesome-experience-titanics-epic-story-comes-vividly-to-life-16130912.html
Shipbuilding in Belfast – A short history
http://www.belfast-titanic.com/History.html
Belfast salvages Titanic as symbol of revival
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/04/13/uk-titanic-ireland-belfast-idUKBRE83C11620120413?feedType=RSS&feedName=GCA-GoogleNewsUK&google_editors_picks=true
Titanic Memorial Garden completed
Belfast telegraph – The new Titanic Memorial Garden in Belfast has been completed.
The names of more than 1,500 victims of the tragedy are engraved on five bronze plaques on a plinth nine metres wide. It is the first time the names of everyone who died has been recorded on one monument. Many existing memorials failed to include the Titanic crew or musicians.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/titanic-memorial-garden-completed-16145005.html
A new dream in Belfast’s historic Titanic Quarter
Christian Today – The Titanic was called the ship of dreams A hundred years after it sank a church in the Belfast dock where the great ship was built has a new dream for a boat that will bring people together and give them new life
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/a.new.dream.in.belfasts.historic.titanic.quarter/29676.htm
Sinking of Titanic remembered across England
BBC – The Episcopal Bishop of New York, Rt Rev Dr Mark Sisk gave the sermon at a service in Southamton. Bishop Sisk said: “It struck New York differently, because Southampton had a huge chunk of its population die but that was not New York’s experience.
“It had a number of prominent people die and many of the survivors came and stayed. Our next mayor may very well be a descendant of a survivor.
“The level of interest in New York has been just stunning. I’m very honoured to be invited to preach.
“I did not fully grasp, until I came, the percentage of the people from this city that were on that ship.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-17703643
Church joins Titanic remembrances
Episcopal News Service – In Southampton, Episcopal Diocese of New York Bishop Mark S. Sisk will be a guest of Southampton Bishop Suffragan Jonathan H. Frost at events marking the anniversary. Sisk will preach at the 100th anniversary commemorative service at Southampton’s St. Mary’s Church at 2 p.m. local time on April 15.
On Long Island, New York, at St. Ann’s Episcopal Church in Sayville the 10 a.m. Eucharist will be dedicated to “in memory of Edith Corse Evans and those aboard the RMS Titanic who perished with her on April 15, 1912,” according to the parish’s website.
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/04/13/church-joins-titanic-remembrances/
Centenary of Titanic tragedy marked by rock stars and history buffs in costume
Alan Murray – A memorial garden will be opened in Belfast this morning to mark the sinking of the Titanic 100 years ago. Located in the grounds of Belfast City Hall, it is the only one in the world which names all of those who perished on the famous liner’s maiden voyage in 1912.
Titanic Sinking Remembered 100 Years On
Guardian – At Lahardane, or Addergoole, in County Mayo, in the west of Ireland, villagers organised a church bell ringing overnight. The tiny parish suffered the greatest proportionate loss – 11 residents died in the maritime disaster. A century later, they are …
Titanic’s 1,512 dead are remembered in mid-ocean 100 years after sinking
Guardian – Remembrance service held aboard cruise ship Balmoral at mid-Atlantic spot where the Titanic went down
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/apr/15/titanic-memorial-service-balmoral
Titanic Memorial At Sinking Site 100 Years On
Sky News – includes reports from Belfast and from Lahardane, or Addergoole, in County Mayo, in the west of Ireland, where villagers organised a church bell ringing overnight.The tiny parish suffered the greatest proportionate loss – 11 residents died in the maritime disaster. A century later, they are still mourning their dead. Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny was due to attend a ceremony in Lahardane’s newly-constructed Titanic memorial park.
http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16208858
VIDEO: The luckiest priest on the Titanic…
TheJournal.ie – Fr Frank Browne left behind one of the most valuable photographic records of the first leg of the Titanic’s maiden voyage. Luckily for him, his Jesuit superior ordered him off the boat at Cobh.
http://www.thejournal.ie/video-the-luckiest-priest-on-the-titanic-413182-Apr2012/